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possible without losing sight of the objective. The opposition soldiers were moving relentlessly toward the mouth of the valley, but there was no indication the enemy had any idea the three of them were racing toward it as well.
    Sweat rolled down Nick’s face and neck. He could feel it inside the ghillie suit, dripping down his torso and soaking his T-shirt. A glance at Dex and Victoria told him they were equally as miserable. In the quiet of the night, the steady hum of dozens of engines drifted to him. These opposition fighters were tough and angry, determined to wrest control of the government from the king and his officials.
    But it was more than that. So many of the militants were also radicals, and more than one terrorist group had seen a grand opportunity to get involved in Qu’rimi politics. The Freedom Force had been severely weakened with the capture of Al Ahmad—but it’d had a surprising resurgence in strength over the past year. It was once more becoming a threat to the stability and security of the region.
    And the woman running beside him had only aided their cause today. That pissed him off and made him even more determined to find out her secrets.
    The three of them ran hard for twenty minutes before reaching the mouth of the valley. He calculated that the enemy forces were about five minutes behind them as they ran onto the trail and burst through the gap. Nick wouldn’t feel any relief until they connected with the rest of the team, but this was a major obstacle down.  
    A few minutes later, Victoria cried out and came to a stop. Nick pulled up and turned back. Dex followed.
    “What’s wrong?” Nick demanded.
    Victoria limped toward him, waving a hand. “Twisted my knee. And I’m spent. I can’t run another second.”
    “We’re almost there. Half a mile to the extraction point. You can make it that far.”
    She found a rock beside the trail and perched on it. “No, I really can’t. It hurts too much.”
    Nick shifted his pack and took a step toward her. “Then we’ll carry you. I’ll start—”
    “Take another step and I’ll shoot you.” Her rifle was still slung over her shoulder, but she was holding a Sig pointed right between his eyes.  
    Fury exploded in his gut. “What the fuck, Victoria?”
    “Two can play this game, babe,” she said very coolly.  
    Her eyes glowed through his NVGs, making her look demonic. The determined look on her face said she meant the words she’d spoken. He didn’t doubt she’d shoot him if he ignored her instructions.
    “We just helped you escape a bad situation, and this is how you repay us?”
    She shrugged. “I helped you too, don’t forget. And I told you I wasn’t going with you. You’re the one who insisted. But I’m not in the Army anymore, and I make my own decisions.” She flicked the gun. “So this is where we part company. You can be on your merry way, and I’ll be on mine.”
    “Fuck you.”
    She stood and put both hands on the gun as she faced him. “Don’t test me, Nick.”
    He wanted to. Not more than a few hours ago, they’d lain on a floor together, her body pressed tightly to his, her breath hot against his neck. She’d made him think of things he’d never had with her. Things he wanted.
    Clearly, she didn’t feel the same.
    “You’re a traitor, you know that?”
    Her chin lifted a notch. “So I’ve been told.”
    “You could have done so much for our side. But you chose this life instead.”  
    “Yeah, yeah, I hear you,” she said. “I’m unmoved. Now go, and be glad I don’t disarm you both and leave you here for the Qu’rimis to find.”
    He snorted. “You realize if you shoot me that Dex is going to drop you, right?”
    He didn’t have to look to know the other man had a weapon on her.  
    “I think you like yourself too much to make me shoot you. You’d rather live to fight another day.”
    He clenched his fists at his side. Rage rolled through him in hot waves. He’d let down his guard with